Month: December 2016

Wed, Dine, Party and Honeymoon all in one lovely environment in downtown Santa Fe!

View the photos below, and you can see that a lovely ceremony can be held in front of the patio doors, in front of the fireplace, or out on the patio with the wonderful view of the Santa Fe Mountains. Then your dinner, catered by the hotel, can be a sit down in the dining area. I have had some light food and one dinner after a wedding ceremony, and found the food to be quite good. The hotel staff was quietly attentive, and was willing to quickly serve up a champagne toast for the “Irish Blessing ” at the end of the ceremony.

Not shown is the full kitchen and lovely bedroom upstairs from the kitchen. The bride can make her entrance from the bedroom spiral staircase into the dining room, and to the fireplace, or where more guests can be seated, in front of the patio doors. If you want a patio wedding, and I have seen it decorated quite beautifully, the bride can also enter from a staircase below. I just officiated a wonderful wedding here with about 25 guests. Besides the dinner table you see, another was set up in the living room.

This is one of my favorite places to officiate a small wedding because of its versatility and the wonderful views. You will even hear the hourly bells from the St. Francis Cathedral not far away. If you call the hotel, ask for Evelyn and she will co-ordinate it all for you!

Santa Fe is one of the most appreciated locations for a destination wedding or elopement. I have always believed that one of the unspoken reasons is It’s “intimacy”. Many couples have met here, become engaged here, have had memorable adventures while traveling through. One of the couple may have spent precious moments of their lives growing up here and moving on, or coming for holidays with family and friends. What makes our city named The City Different, “intimate”?

I would say “she”, Santa Fe, “City of Faith”, reaches out to create a very personal relationship with each visitor and resident. We still look up to the tourquoise blue sky with awe, knowing even on the coldest of days it will bring a peaceful smile. Our Mountains are our refuge for a walk or climb, exercise for our dogs and ourselves, personal contemplation time, and closeness to our Creator through nature. Nature continues to reveal her beauty and splendor to many atop our ski basin and the sense of “flying” through her gifted “powder”. And rainbows; well, we still call/text our family and friends to “look up” and count our blessings. Our great St. Francis Cathedral, centered in our downtown, opens its doors to all, welcoming for a liturgy, an afternoon alone meditation or a Christmas community concert. On St. Francis’ sacred name-day the priest comes out to bless our pets! We are of many faiths and no faith, many cultures and chosen lifestyles, of economic and educational backgrounds and choices up and down the ladder. Our many and varied restaurants, coffee houses and lodging are a reflection of this diversity. You will find, upon investigation, that our wedding venues are just as unique and offer many style choices, historic and contemporary.

I guess you could label us “diverse proud”, even though we are still aware we can always do better in this area. We welcome our guests to come “fit” right in with us, and we want you to feel at home! We want your wedding whether large or just the two of you to have in its reality and memory the feeling of this “intimacy” which is one of the reasons why many of us just can’t think of another place we would prefer to live!

I officiated Bil and Kelly’s Wedding on the patio, and they had their private lunch inside.With a view of the Jemez Mountains.

Four Seasons Encantado offers this lovely setting for an elopement or small wedding. I officiated Kelly and Bill’s wedding outside on this intimate patio, with views of the Jemez Mountains. There are heaters on the patio for the winter. Adjacent to the patio is a small room with a fireplace. If the weather is too cold or if there is rain, your ceremony can be in front of the fireplace or in front of the open patio doors. A private lunch or dinner can be held in this room as well as your wedding. Miranda May, whose enthusiasm for each couple to experience their perfect wedding matches mine, is the wedding consultant who will help set all of this up for you. Cake and champagne too!

When consulting with couples about personalizing their wedding ceremony, I always add the option and suggestion of writing your own vows. Many times the immediate feeling or thought is that this would be too difficult, too intimate, or that reading wedding vows to their partner from a piece of paper, would not “look” good for the ceremony. And…”I or my partner would just cry and not be able to read.”

It is my observation and experience that writing your vows to your “be-loved” can be a fun, deep and meaningful experience in that it allows one the time and contemplation to muse over why this person is so important to them in their life. It can also be a wonderful point of “sweet humor” coming into your ceremony. I have noticed many times that when one is expressing their appreciation for their partner, the partner is hearing, sometimes for the first time, an aspect of why they are loved so much. This is a joy to behold!

Some couples write their vows on lovely little book-like stationary, in little scroll form with a ribbon tied around, or just take the folded up notebook paper out of their pocket. I or the maid of honor usually have the bride’s as she does not have a pocket. It is just my romantic opinion, but reading your vows off of your iPhone is not what I would suggest! I always make sure that the couple keep their original paper written vows with their marriage license so that they have them for keepsakes. And if you “love-cry” while reading; well, we all are very, very happy to wait with full hearts. I will hand you a kleenex. If the bride, your maid of honor will fix your eye-makeup right after the ceremony. And, we all will know there sure is “true love” present!